This invention relates to coupling for piping in a bearing-portion for a roll chock in a rolling mill, and more particularly to the coupling for joint in a bearing portion for a roll chock, which is best suited for a rolling mill permitting the exchange of rolls only by displacing the roll assembly composed of a roll and roll chocks provided on each end of the roll, back and forth, in the axial direction of the roll.
In general, a bearing portion which bears a rotating roll for use in rolling operation is housed in a roll chock, while a lubricating oil is fed to a bearing-portion for a roll through the medium of a roll chock for the roll. The roll chock is built in a mill housing, and should be moved up and down within the mill housing during the rolling operation. Meanwhile, the mill housing should be replaced by another roll assemblies, several times a day. In such a case, the roll chock should be drawn towards the driven (operator's side) or driving side, as required.
Accordingly, the coupling for piping in a roll chock should fulfill the following requirements:
(1) Easy attachment and removal, i.e., engagement and disengagement. Light weight and a minimized space to be occupied.
(2) Feasibility of upward and downward movements.
(3) Inner diameter adapted for a desired flow rate of a fluid flowing through the piping.
(4) Strength high enough for a pressure required and ease of handling.
The attempts which have been proposed hitherto for couplings for piping in a bearing portion for a roll chock are: (i) quick couplings which may be attached or removed manually, on both the driven side (operator's side) and driving side; (ii) a combination of quick couplings used on the driven side, and a pipe or hose connected from a driving-side roll chock to a driven-side roll chock, so that a lubricating oil is supplied from the driven side; (iii) couplings provided on a member or body such as a wheeled platform or truck, which may be separated from a roll after the drawal of a roll, so that couplings may be automatically engaged with each other, simultaneously with the exchange of rolls (Japanese Patent Publication No. Sho. 48-33310).
However, the aforesaid prior art couplings suffer from various disadvantages. In other words, in the former case, an operator should go to the driving side to attach and remove the couplings. However, the driving side provides poor operationability because of a limited space, in which there are positioned a spindle for driving a roll and carriers for holding the spindle. In addition, according to an attempt utilizing pipes and the like, limitations are imposed on a space for the attaching and removing operation of pipes or a space for a foothold. Furthermore, according to an attempt utilizing couplings provided on a member or body such as wheeled platform which is to be separated from a roll, there results complexity in construction for roll exchange as well as in roll-exchange operation, so that a limitation is imposed on the quick exchange of rolls. In other words, this has been a formidable task to enable the complete automation of roll-exchange operation.